My Fallen Rose
by Alphonseluver
Summary: On their search for the ledgendary Philosipher's stone, Edward and Alphonse Elric are given a side quest, to look after a young girl who's father holds the key to creating a stone without human transmutation.
1. The Beginning

My Fallen Rose

"Ummm, excuse me sir, I need your tickets, please." asked the tall ticket holder.

"Oh, sorry…of course. Here you go," replied Alphonse as he handed the ticket master two tickets and started to get onto the train. "Come on Ed. We have to hurry. Lt. Mustang said it was urgent."

"Yeah, yeah. Everything is urgent to him." said Edward. "I'm coming."

The ticket master laughed and said "you should listen to your big brother, there shorty. He knows what he is talking about."

"SHORTY?" screamed Ed, "SHORTY! I'LL SHOW YOU SHORT! I'LL POUND YOU STRAIGHT INTO THE …"

"Edward…not here. Please just get onto the train!" said Alphonse as he pushed Ed ahead of him into the train's cab. "Sorry for the trouble mister" he motioned to the ticket master.

"Oh, it's no trouble at all. I guess he doesn't like trains…well, you look after him, you hear?" said the ticket master. "Well, you'd better get onto the train too, sonny, it's about to leave."

"Oh, I will. Sorry again." And with that Alphonse hopped onto the train.

Alphonse wandered down the train's cab until he found Edward, sitting by himself in a huff next to a window. Al hurried up and sat in the seat across from him. He could hear Ed murmuring to himself.

"Damn ticket person. Calling _me_ shorty…I'll show him who's short…he had no right."

"Oh, Ed, stop. The guy didn't know. You don't need to keep going on. There are more important things to worry about!" said Al.

"Like what Al? You know there really isn't anything for us to do these days" Ed said as he put his arms behind his head and started to smirk. "Besides searching for the stone, what do we do? Nothing, that's what, so relax. Live a little"

"Aren't you at all curious at what Lt. Mustang is gonna tell us? I wonder why he said it was so urgent…"said Al.

Flashback

"Mr. Edward, there is a call for you at the front desk" said the hotel secretary.

"Come on Al, we gotta go. We finally try to get some rest, and _then_ we get a phone call." said Ed as he walked out of their hotel room's door.

"I wonder how they found us. I thought you said they didn't know where we were." said Al.

"I don't know how they found us. But this is bugging me. I wonder who it is that wanted us _so_ bad they tracked down our hotel." wondered Ed as he walked to the stairs, down to the front desk.

"Here you go Mr. Edward." said the secretary as she handed the boys the phone.

"Yeah, who is it?" asked Ed.

"This is Lt. Mustang, Ed. We need you to come back to central immediately." Roy said.

"Oh yeah, for what?" asked Ed.

"Please, Ed. Don't give us any arguments. We need you right away. Come to central RIGHT NOW!" said Mustang as he slammed down the phone.

"Ouch…geez…he could've at least waited till I said bye before he slammed the phone in my ear…Well Al, we gotta go. Mustang says it's important…" said Edward.

End of flashback

"Ah…he probably needs someone to help him clean up some mess…" said Ed as he trailed off.

"No, it probably is important… I wonder what he needs…" said Al. "Well, two more stops and we are there, Ed. What do you want to do until then?"

"You know what, Al? I bet something he's gonna have us do could leave us closer to the stone." said Ed.

"You think so?" asked Al.

"Yeah. I bet you it does." stated Ed.

"And if it doesn't? What then brother?" questioned Al.

"Ummm…I haven't really thought of that…well, if it doesn't, at least we'll have something to do for a while." said Ed.

"I guess so" said Al as he started to stare out the window.

The brothers didn't talk the rest of the trip back to central, for they were both going over their own thoughts. When they finally got to central, it was dark outside.

"Wow. Does it really take this long to get to central?" asked Ed.

"Well, when you take it as one trip. But we kept stopping along our trip away from central, so it didn't really seem that long." replied Al.

"Oh, I guess that makes sense." Ed smiled "good thinking Al. what would I do with out you pal?"

"EDWARD! ALPHONSE! OVER HERE!" cried a voice from the crowd of people at the train station.

"I wonder who that was" inquired Ed.

"I don't." said Al, "look over there."

A tall, burly man in a blue military uniform was waving madly at the two brothers. It was Alex Louis Armstrong. As he ran towards the two brothers, his only piece of hair besides his mustache flopped above his head. When he reached Al and Ed he stopped, bent over with his hands on his knees and tried to catch his breath. When he did, he looked up at the brothers and said "finally you guys have arrived. I've been waiting at this train station all day!"

"You know," stated Ed, "we didn't get on the train until about noon. You should've known we wouldn't be here so quick. It's common sense."

Major Armstrong just stared at the two for a moment before he cleared his throat and said "yes, well…I was ordered to wait here until you arrived, so I only did as was ordered of me…But enough of that, Lt. Mustang needs to see you as soon as possible. It seems to be very important."

"Wait, so you don't know what he's gonna tell us either?" asked Al as he stopped walking.

"No, I have absolutely no idea what he needs with you two boys, but he said we need to hurry," replied Major Armstrong.

"How long ago did he say that? This morning when he made you come down here? If he's waited all day, I'm sure we can take our time on our way up there." Ed told them.

The major just stared hardly at Ed before continuing to walk ahead of him.

"Ed," said Al, "just do what he says. We don't need to give them any trouble."

"Give _them_ trouble? Aren't they the ones who dragged us half way across the country?" questioned Ed, "Besides…it's probably gonna be something totally stupid when we get there."

"Well, we have to get there first, don't we?" said Major Armstrong as he turned around and hurried them along. After a few minutes of walking they reached a long black car, capable of carrying several people.

"Get in" said the Major.

Abidingly, the boys got in. About half an hour later, the car stopped and pulled up next to a tall building with many stairs leading to the doors.

"Well, Al. We're back." Stated Ed as he and Al exited the car with the Major and climbed up the stairs. Upon entering the building they were greeted by an unfamiliar secretary who walked them to Lt. Mustang's office. As soon as they were outside the door the secretary left and said, "Go on in. He's been waiting for you for quite a while." The boys looked at her, then to each other. They both shrugged and started to walk in when Edward held out his arm in front of Al. "Wait a minute" he whispered. Through the door they could hear Lt. Mustang and someone they've never heard before talking. "We shouldn't be doing this Ed," Al told Ed.

"SHHHH! I wanna hear" snapped Ed.

End of first chapter


	2. The Job

beginning of 2nd chapter

"You know, we really shouldn't be listening through the door." said Al.

"I thought I told you to shut-up! I wanna listen" snapped Ed. Ed turned with his ear against the door while Al leaned close to it so they could both hear what was going on.

**Mustang:** Well, they should've been here a while ago. I called them early this morning.

**Girl**: Well, it isn't a problem really. I'm still here and alive, so I guess you're still doing your job. giggle It's okay though, really. Besides, it's so fun being here in your office, Mr. Mustang. So many interesting people come through…

**Mustang:** Yes, well, that comes with the title.

**Girl:** What title?

**Mustang:** laughs the LT. in front of my name. You really are funny.

**Girl**: Oh…I see now. Well. Who was it you said were gonna look after my parents?

**Mustang:** We have some skilled officers looking after them, they are in safe hands.

**Girl:** Do I not get skilled officers looking after me? tone changes in her voice to stern Are you sticking me with knock offs?

**Mustang:** No, we are just- he is cut off by the girl, laughing her head off

**Girl**: I'm just joking Mr. Mustang. I'm sure you have hired good people to look after me. I trust you judgment. By the way, what were their names again?

**Mustang**: Well, there are two of them. One is your age. His name is Alphonse, but don't be alarmed, his body is a full suit of armor.

**Girl:** Wow, Sounds like he is fit for the job.

**Mustang:** Yes, they both are, the other one is older than you. His name is Ed.

**Girl**: Okay.

**Mustang:** Don't make the same mistake we all did. Never call him, though he is very, don't call him Short.

Just then Ed and Al busted through Mustang's office door. Ed was steaming with anger.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN SHORT? I'M SO DAMN TIRED OF YOU CALLING ME--" Ed stopped when he saw the girl sitting there. "Who is she?" he then asked. "And what in hell do you mean we are gonna watch her?"

"My, my. Such colorful language." The girl said and then she started to giggle. "Mr. Mustang, are you sure he isn't the one trying to kill me? The way he acts, he could scare someone when he yells."

"laughs Yeah, he is very scary," Mustang began while being given sharp looks by Ed, "No. He is part of the military, so I can assure you, he is fine."

"Part of the military," said the girl, "but he looks so young." She said as she faced Ed "You only look about sixteen or seventeen…are you really in the military?" she questioned.

Before Ed could answer, Lt. Mustang answered for him. "Yes. He may not look it, but he is part of the military. He has been since he was twelve."

"Twelve! Then wait…." She started to trail off. She looked at Ed and stated "then you must be the legendary Fullmetal Alchemist! My! What an honor! I've read all about you in the books Mr. Mustang let me see these past few days! That's amazing!"

"Well… I am pretty amazing…" said Ed as he blushed and trailed off. Al flashed him a stern look then turned to Lt. Mustang.

"So, you say we are watching after her? Why's that?" asked Al.

"Stephanie, I'm gonna need you to leave my office for a few minutes. Why don't you head down to the cafeteria and grabs us some lunch. I'll see you in a few minutes." Mustang said as her turned to the girl and flashed a smile. "Pick me something good!"

The girl looked at him for a few seconds before smiling back and leaving the office. After she left, Mustang got up, closed the door and sat back down. His smile had disappeared and he looked sternly at the two boys.

"Who was that?" asked Al.

Ed turned towards Al and looked at him. "Alllllppphhhooonnnsssseee…. By the tone of your voice, I think someone has a crush…" After that, he started laughing.

"I DO NOT!" screamed Al.

"Ooo….someone's touchy" Ed said as he laughed again. "You know, I don't blame you Al, she was very pretty. You and she would look so cute together."

"Oh, as though anyone could love an empty suit of armor" snapped Al.

"Hey, I was only joking…besides. Someone that pretty should be someone for me…" said Ed as he started to laugh again.

Al shot Ed another look and then he turned towards Lt. Mustang. "What do you mean we have to watch her?"

"Stephanie is in danger from her father's studies." said Lt. Mustang.

"Stephanie? That's an odd name…" said Ed.

"She's American. That's why." replied Mustang. "Anyway," he started

"AMERICAN! But she speaks our language so well!" said Ed.

"Well, she's been studying for a long time. She likes to read, hence why she's heard of you Edward. Either way, let me continue." He started again. "Stephanie's father is a researcher for a branch of our military in America. Recently he's discovered something that could change the way we work, think, act…it would change everything! Her father has found a way to make a full fledged Philosopher's stone _without _human transmutation."

"What!" Al said slowly. "How did he find that out?"

"Well, about a year ago, his son Jak died. The whole family was very close to him and they were all devastated, especially Stephanie. Her father decided she shouldn't live without him, but I think he couldn't either. So in a way, her father is like you two. He tried to perform a human transmutation to bring Jak back. But, like yours, it didn't work. He lost almost every part of his body. He's almost like you Al. All he has left is one human arm, part of his chest and his head. The rest is metal."

"He's lucky," said Al, "I don't even have that much."

"Yes well. After that, he couldn't believe it didn't work. So he studied day and night for about a year, almost killed himself trying. Finally, he recently contacted us with his findings. As you can imagine, many are after him and his information, so we need to protect them until we can lock the secret up safe."

"Won't he still be in danger then?" asked Ed.

"Yes, but not as much. After that, he will be living here in the military state house with his family. There is no way they will get them in here." added Mustang.

"Well, then why don't you keep them now? If this place is so good, then why not keep them?" questioned Ed.

"Stupid! They will be looking here for them! Later on, when they check somewhere else, we'll move them back here. Until then, you must watch her."

"But-" Ed started to say before Stephanie walked back into the room carrying a full tray of goods. Someone else came in behind her with another huge tray.

"Sorry to burst in Mr. Mustang, but I couldn't carry it all" she said as she giggled. "I had to have Mr. Havoc help me carry it!"

"Oh, it's really no problem for a pretty girl like you, Stephanie." said Jean Havoc before flashing Mustang a smile. "Call me if you guys need any help." He set the tray down on the table near Mustang's desk. He then looked towards Stephanie. "You tell me if you need anymore help little missy." He said as he patted her on the head before walking out. "See ya" he called from the hallway.

"Wow, that all looks so good" Mustang said with a smile. "Edward, Alphonse, why don't you sit down and get to know Stephanie here. I'm sure she wants to get to know you."

Stephanie flashed them a smile and Alphonse hurried to sit next to her. "So," he said, "Stephanie's a really pretty name. I hear you are American."

"Yeah!" she said excitedly. As they continued to chatter, Ed turned to talk to mustang. "Lt Mustang-" Ed started before Mustang cut him off. "It seems like those two really hit it off, don't you think? They do look cute together, you know? I mean besides the fact that Al is a giant suit of armor." He said as they both turned towards Stephanie and Alphonse, who were both cracking up laughing.

"Yeah," replied Ed, "it's like they are already connected. I don't remember seeing him this happy since he was eleven."

Mustang laughed and said to Ed, "Girls can make a sad man happy any day." With that, they both laughed. "That's true." said Ed. Then they both turned towards Al and Stephanie, who were still laughing. "Well, we should probably get some food before Stephanie eats it all!" said Ed as he rushed towards the plate. "Hey!" yelled Stephanie.

**End of Chapter 2**


	3. The Girl

**beginning of chapter 3**

"Man, I'm so full I could burst!" stated Ed as he laid back on the floor.

"Me, too!" said Stephanie. "I couldn't eat another bite if I had to! She added as she laughed.

"Well, then I guess it's a good thing none of us has to." Mustang said.

"Guess so" said Stephanie.

"Say, Stephanie. Why are you wearing sunglasses? We're inside, you shouldn't need them in here" Al said as he laughed.

"Yes, I do need them in here. I need them everywhere." Stephanie said as she stopped smiling. "I'm blind."

"What!" asked Al.

"No way!" added Ed.

"No, she isn't lying boys. She is blind." said Mustang.

"Oh…I'm so sorry. I didn't' mean to-" Al said.

"It's okay Alphonse, you didn't know. I'm glad you didn't. It was cool that you didn't know. You guys didn't treat me handicapped or nothing…it felt great. I normally always need special help. I need Mr. Havoc help me back to the room, not just cause I had to much to carry. I had to have a guide to get me from the stairs to this room when I first got here." She turned towards Mustang. "When I got here, we had to walk to my room, and then back here…so many times a day. I couldn't do it, so mustang has given me a bed next door. I hate being blind. That's why it feels so great knowing that you guys couldn't of guessed if Al hadn't said anything." She smiled. "But now that you know, I don't want you guys to treat me any differently. I liked the way you guys acted before you found out. So, let's continue that way, huh?"

Al and Ed both smiled. "Of course we will. I'm sorry for bringing it up." said Al.

"Thanks," said Stephanie as she smiled again.

"Well. Even though Mustang here has told you about us, we'll introduce us to you ijn person," said Ed, "My name is Edward Elric. Nice to meet you, Stephanie."

"It okay if I call you Ed for short?" asked Stephanie.

"Yeah. That's what they all call me anyway. Knock yourself out." said Ed.

"No thanks," Stephanie said as she laughed. "I like to be conscious when I meet someone. Well, my name is Stephanie."

"And I'm Alphonse. You can call me Al for short." said Al.

"I will. Well, I'm getting tired. Probably from being so full. I'm gonna go to bed." said Stephanie as she got up from the table. "I'll see you guys in the morning.

"You need any help, Steph?" asked Mustang.

Stephanie turned around and smiled. "No thanks," she said, "I can make it myself. It's only next door."

"Well, actually, whether you want them there or not, Ed and Al have to come with you," mustang said, "It's part of their duty." Mustang got up. "Here, I'll show you where she is staying."

Edward and Alphonse got up from the table and followed Stephanie and Lt. Mustang out to the room across the hall. As soon as they opened the door, someone popped out at them. Stephanie fell back into the hallway. Alphonse rushed down to Stephanie's side and helped her up as the shadowy figure emerged from the room. Ed and Lt. Mustang straightened up, preparing for battle.

"Whoa, whoa. Settle down, you crazy battle hungry people," Havoc stepped out of the room carrying a basket full of dirty clothes. Behind him, Riza Hawkeye popped out. "What's going on out here?" she asked with a puzzled look on her face.

"Well, I walk out with laundry, and they want to attack me!" said Havoc.

"Well, you did just pop of out the door, Jean," said Hawkeye, before she spotted Mustang. After seeing him, she straightened up, and saluted him. "Lt. Mustang. We were gathering Stephanie's needing launder items and dropping off a plate of tea, sir."

"Okay. Relax. You guys scared us," Mustang said with a sigh. "Well, if there are no more surprises, we'll show you guys the room." Mustang walked forward and turned on the light that Riza had just turned off. As soon as he did, Ed's eyes just about popped out of his head and Alphonse gasped. "Gosh, this is huge!"

They looked around at the huge room. There were chandeliers, a balcony and even a flight of stairs leading to another area.

"Well, don't get used to it," said Mustang. "You guys gotta leave in about two or three days. You can't stay here for long, because people might catch her trail. Okay, well, up those stairs is Stephanie's bed, you guys will sleep down here, so you can hear anything at the windows or door. Your beds are over there in the corner."

"Ummm, Lt. Mustang, "Al whispered, "is it good for Stephanie to be up those stairs?"

"Well, Al, all you guys gotta worry about is her falling. Which you shouldn't even worry there. We've taken all the precautions. Here, I'll show you," Mustang said as he walked up the stairs. He motioned for Al and Ed to follow him. They started to walk up the stairs when Stephanie said "I wanna go up now, too." She linked arms with Al, who looked at her arm and blushed on the inside and they all walked up the stairs. When they got up there, Al and Ed both gasped at what they saw. There was another whole room! At the wall at the very edge, there was a bed with a nightstand, a closet on another wall, a bathroom behind a door next to the closet and a kitchen on the other side.

"This is huge too! Wow!" said an excited Alphonse, as he rushed over to look at everything.

"Not only that, but she can't fall down the stairs, there's a safety gate and there are sensors when you get too close. Watch" Mustang said as he walked close to the stairs. A sharp alarm went off.

"You don't really think I'm gonna fall, do you?" asked Stephanie.

"No, but we need to take precautions." said Mustang.

"I guess you are right. I'm glad you care." said Stephanie. She started reaching into the air. "Al, where are you?"

Just then, Alphonse stopped what he was doing and ran back to them. "What do you need, Stephanie?"

"Come with me over to my bed. I need to talk to you." she said as she linked arms with him again and he guided her over to the bed.

"They are getting pretty close," said Lt. Mustang, "a little too close…"

"What?" asked Ed.

"Oh, nothing. Well, I'm going back downstairs. See you guys' later." said Lt. Mustang.

"I need to talk to you, I'll come with." said Ed.

"We'll see you later," called Stephanie as Mustang and Ed walked down the stairs.

Back on the bed, Stephanie and Al were sitting down, talking.

"Hey Al. why are you so cold? I mean, I know you are wearing a suit of armor, but normally you can feel body heat through it…I don't understand…are you…empty?" asked Stephanie.

"No. I mean, yeah, but I have a soul so…." replied Al.

"How did you become like this?" asked Stephanie.

"It's a long story…but I guess I can tell you. When we were little…" Al started. Over the next hour Alphonse told Stephanie the start of the adventure to where they are today. Al couldn't tell if she was listening, because he didn't know if it was interesting or not, but she hoped she was. By the end of the story all Stephanie said was "Wow."

"What's so …wow?" asked Al.

"You've been through so much more than I have these past years, and all I do is complain…I feel so terrible. Like I'm a bad person." Stephanie said as she started to cry.

Al reached for her and put his hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. Being blind has gotta be tough, we all know it is. You have a right to complain."

"Stephanie's face looked up towards Al and she said " you really think so?"

Al looked at her and said "I know so."

After that Stephanie leaned forward and hugged Al, even though he was cold. She started to cry again, so much that she started to fall asleep.

"Well, I should be heading down," Al said.

"No, I don't want you to. Stay up here with me!" said Stephanie and she started to cry again. Al sighed and leaned up close to her again. He whispered to her, "I'll stay as long as you want me to."

Stephanie leaned up towards Al and kissed his head armor. "Thanks Al," she started to say, "But if you want to go own, you can. In fact you probably should, or Mustang will get mad."

"I don't really want to, but If you want me too, I will." said Alphonse as he gave her a hug and started to walk down the stairs. On his way down, he heard Stephanie call "I really like you, Al." he turned around and called back "I like you, too." and finished walking down the stairs. When he got down stairs, Ed was waiting at the door. He walked in and crawled into bed.

"Man…I'm so tired. I'll see you in the morning Al. If the alarm goes off, will you check on her?" asked Ed.

"Yes. I will. Goodnight brother." Said Al, but Ed was already asleep. Alphonse crawled into the super size bed they had for him and he laid down. For the first time in weeks, he fell asleep and had a dream.

**End of Chapter 3**


	4. The Girl Pt 2

**Beginning of chapter 4**

Al woke up several hours later and he couldn't believe what had just happened. He slept, not only that, but he had a dream as well. He sat laid there, just going over what had just happened in his head. STEPHANIE! She was in the dream, it was her! She gave him the dream! Al sat up silently in bed and wondered how she gave him that dream.

Al got up slowly out of bed and started towards the stairs.

"I wonder how she gave me that dream." Al thought to himself in the quiet morning.

Al started to tip-toe silently up the stairs as he kept wondering that thought. When he got to the top, he stepped over the red beam of light that would set off the alarm if Stephanie got too close to the stairs. As he walked up to her bed, he found she was still sleeping, her breathing coming in a slow, steady rhythm. He looked at her and wished he could show some sort of affection, that his face wasn't a plate of armor, that she could feel his body warmth…but she couldn't, and wishing had never helped him before, and it wasn't helping him now.

Al looked at her body lying there underneath the soft blankets upon her. He then noticed her hand sticking out from the blanket. Al grabbed it and held it for a long time. Later on, when Stephanie woke up, Al was still holding her hand as his head was laid on the bed next to her body. She felt something grabbing her hand; it was warm metal, probably meaning someone was holding it for a long time. Stephanie toke her other arm and held it out in the air, trying to feel who was there, and after grazing something with her arm she realized what it was. It was Al, she felt around his body, from his head, to his shoulders, down his arm, to his hand, which was still holding hers. She smiled and lay back down. Al looked at her and was glad she knew it was him. He was even happier she didn't tell him to let go. She didn't mind at all.

Al smiled on the inside as her grasped her hand greater, so glad she didn't want him to let go. Several minutes later, Stephanie's breathing pace was again of which from when she was asleep.

"She's fallen asleep with me holding her hand," Al thought to himself.

After she fell back asleep Al let go of her hand, walked over to the stairs, stepped over the red beam and walked down the stairs. "I won't let anything happen to her, I promise," he thought to himself. Al finished walking down the stairs and climbed back into his bed. He couldn't stop thinking to himself; he wondered how she gave him that dream, if it was even her at all. "Yes," he finally said to himself, "it must've been her. It seems like we like each other, so…maybe it was love that made the connection…" He kept pondering that thought until he heard someone come through the door at the front of the room. He quickly sat up and wondered who it was.

He saw the shadow in the doorway head for the light switch. Slowly, as the light came on, the figure came into focus. It was Lt. Mustang. Mustang smiled as he saw Al sitting up.

"I'm glad you're up, Al. Wake your brother up, you both and Stephanie have some business to do this morning." Mustang said. Al scowled to himself. Waking up Ed had never been easy, and from seeing how tired he was last night, this is going to be a pain getting him up. Al got out of the bed and walked over to Ed's bed, where, of course, Ed was still asleep. Al groaned again and started to shake Ed a little.

"Ed," Al whispered, "you have to get up. Mustang said so…"

Al shook him a little more and wondered why he had to be such a heavy sleeper.

"Come on," said Al, "Wake Up!"

Ed groaned and rolled over.

"Man, I should get paid to look after you," grumbled Al.

"Oh come on," called Mustang from the doorway, "he isn't that bad."

"Yeah, Al. I'm not that bad," said Ed who was still half asleep.

"Yes, I know. But I got you up, didn't I?" Al said as he pulled the blankets off Ed's body. Ed started to shiver and he gave Al a stern look.

"Yeah, yeah. I know… so what are we doing today that's so important to wake me up?" asked Ed.

"Well, get dressed and you'll find out. Al, can you go wake Stephanie up?" asked Mustang who was still waiting at the doorway.

"I will," said Al as he started up the stairs.

"Watch out for the alarm!" cried Mustang right as Al stepped over it.

**end of chapter 4**


End file.
